A Colombian man has been sentenced to death in China for drug trafficking, and his family is seeking his release to Colombia, Caracol Radio reported Thursday.
Harold Carillo Sanchez was sentenced to death by a Chinese court earlier this year after he was found guilty of smuggling 6.6 pounds of drugs into Beijing.
Sanchez’s family has requested the Chinese government to allow Colombia to prosecute him, adding that “If he has made a mistake he should pay, but not be killed.”
Sanchez was a Cali taxi cab driver for years when in March 2010 he suddenly announced that he was taking a trip to China with stops in Panama, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates. Sanchez was believed to barely be making enough to feed his family as a cab driver.
Sanchez’s family lost touch with him until they heard about his conviction. Sanchez has written his family expressing his belief that if he shows remorse and behaves well his sentence could be reduced to life in prison.